


take over the world

by thedemonhammer



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, no real spoilers, takes place during episode 11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:06:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8849641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedemonhammer/pseuds/thedemonhammer
Summary: He doesn’t want to admit he’s afraid. Doesn’t want to accept that everything is flickering around him, that he can feel the edges of a panic attack creeping up his spine like a spider. He’s in enemy territory—backed against the wall with a sea of monsters in front of him.If he lets his guard down for even a moment, if he allows them to notice the way he’s trembling in his skates, they’ll tear him to shreds.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Haven’t seen episode 11 yet, as I am currently waiting for Crunchyroll to put up the new episode, and I have to wait for my little sister to get home from work so that we can clutch each other and cry about it when it’s all said and done.
> 
> But, in the meantime, I’m attempting to get myself through the day by writing a few new things. And after seeing one screenshot leak from episode 11, I was struck with a bit of inspiration to write something short about Yuuri about to head out onto the ice to do his final Short Program.
> 
> Here’s hoping that everyone enjoys this little bit of happiness before tonight’s episode airs. I honestly have no idea what to expect. Kubo-sensei keeps surprising me more and more each day.
> 
> Happy reading, everyone!

He doesn’t want to admit he’s afraid. Doesn’t want to accept that everything is flickering around him, that he can feel the edges of a panic attack creeping up his spine like a spider. He’s in enemy territory—backed against the wall with a sea of monsters in front of him.

If he lets his guard down for even a moment, if he allows them to notice the way he’s trembling in his skates, they’ll tear him to shreds.

_Thief._

_Monster._

_You stole Viktor Nikiforov from us._

_Pathetic._

_What did he see in you?_

He turns away from the crowd of men and women he doesn’t recognize, away from the eyes prying him apart, and turns to look at Viktor.

Viktor Nikiforov stands on the other side of the wall, feet planted on cement. He once walked the ice with the same command as a god. No one opposed him. A god among mortals, Viktor Nikiforov held the world by the throat. And Yuuri had been the monster who’d reached into the heavens, hooked the god by the ankle, and yanked him through the clouds until he was so buried in the earth it seemed unlikely he would return.

Yuuri feels sick to his stomach. Viktor is half a head taller than him, so he looks down at Yuuri when they make eye-contact. His blue irises flicker, a question, a lack of understanding.

Yuuri swallows a thick lump in his throat. He doesn’t deserve this. He’d fallen on his face last season, sprawled on the ground like the vermin he was, and that is where he belongs now. Not here—not standing in front of the god he’d condemned.

Viktor senses the shift in his mood—how he does it, Yuuri will never fathom. He reaches out and laces his fingers with Yuuri’s, bending in close so their noses just barely touch. “Do not let them frighten you, любимый. Show the whole world your love—I know they’ll accept you.”

Part of Yuuri wants to shout that it’s not that simple. He’s been showing his love for months, channeling it into his movements, his expressions, every fiber of his existence. But showing his love doesn’t prove that he deserves this—that he deserves Viktor. There are still people in the world rooting for him to fail. He is the monster who stole Viktor Nikiforov, and the ones who blame him want his skates to snap beneath his feet the second he touches ice.

He tries to keep his expression blank. In his Short Program, he takes on the role of the temptress, and he cannot allow himself to show emotion. To be successful, he must channel all the appeal of a sexual conqueror, something he has never been, something he never _will be_.

Viktor’s fingers tighten around his hand, and Yuuri looks down. A sudden glint of gold catches his eye; the rings. His cheeks flush. He still isn’t used to looking at his hand and seeing this—a golden symbol that Viktor slipped onto his finger only a night ago.

Less than twenty-four hours ago, Yuuri and Viktor had taken their relationship to another level; whatever level that was, Yuuri couldn’t begin to imagine. He thinks back to Viktor holding his hand up in front of the others, the ring flashing on his hand. _This is an engagement ring_. Thinking about it made Yuuri’s heart skip.

“You’re shaking,” Viktor remarks, and Yuuri flinches. Dammit, he thought he had a fairly decent hold on his emotions. He doesn’t want the world to know how nervous he felt standing in the center of the ice, but he definitely doesn’t want _Viktor_ to know.

Viktor takes in his silence, and then he lifts Yuuri’s hand to his lips. He presses a slow, gentle kiss to each fingertip, each knuckle, lingering on top of the golden ring.

Yuuri feels an electric bolt zip through his body. There are cameras all over the stadium. He’s up next and the crowd is watching him. He can hear the nasty whispers creeping from the back of his brain.

_Unworthy._

_Disgusting._

_You don’t deserve this._

_Look at what you’ve done to a god._

_What right do you have?_

Yuuri draws in a shaking breath as Viktor presses his lips to the back of Yuuri’s right hand and just holds him. It’s a tender, simple gesture, but Viktor fills it with all the love he has. Yuuri feels it like a comfortable weight. Viktor’s strength fills him like a warm liquid.

He _deserves_ this. Viktor chose to come to Japan and coach him. Viktor chose him, over everyone in the world. He must have seen something in him that Yuuri never saw in himself, that others had never seen. But he’d been working hard throughout this season, clawing his way up from his failure, piecing himself back together, and now he has the opportunity to show the _whole world_ just how much he deserves Viktor Nikiforov.

Yuuri takes in a deep, stabilizing breath, and cements his mask in place. When he glides out on the ice and takes center stage. he wants the world to catch its breath when they look at his face. Otherworldly. Beautiful. The man who stole Viktor Nikiforov from the world.

He pulls his hand toward his chest, taking Viktor with him. Viktor raises his head, blue irises flickering, and Yuuri brushes his lips on Viktor’s cheek. It’s a simple gesture, but for the two of them, it means _everything_.

Viktor stills beneath him. Yuuri whispers against his cheek, lowering his voice into the purr of the temptress. “Don’t worry about me, любимый—I’ll bring the whole world to its knees for you.”

He’s pretty sure he butchers the nickname; it feels stilted over his tongue, too heavy in his mouth. Viktor calls him it all the time—любимый. _Beloved_. That’s what Viktor is to him, too; a beloved person in his life he could never replace.

He slips his fingers from Viktor’s grasp, pulls away from him, sliding away to take his place at center stage. He feels Viktor’s lingering gaze on his back. He lets the pride wash over him, the boldness of his actions filling him without just enough strength to lift his face to the cameras. The expressionless mask stays in place; he comes to rest in front of the world, bared for all to see.

As the music starts, his lips raise at the corners. The temptress wanders into a town, intent on yet another sexual conquest, and yet somehow she found her heart ensnared. Yuuri raises his right hand up to his lips, flashing the gold ring to the cameras—showing the world how much he deserves this, how hard he worked to deserve this.

Glancing over at Viktor, whose blue eyes burn into him like flames, Yuuri kisses the ring. It’s a grounding weight, a strong rope stretching across the ice and binding him to Viktor. In the darkness, it’s a light that chases away the monsters. The grousing voices crumble away, the jeering glances of those who wish him to fail vanish, and Yuuri is left with only himself and Viktor standing in the stadium.

And so as the music starts, filling his body and compelling him to move, Yuuri allows himself to laugh, and moves for Viktor and Viktor alone.

**Author's Note:**

> If you all haven’t figured it out, I’m excited but scared as hell for this episode. I just have so many emotions about what I think will happen. I just want all of my babies to be OK by the end of this.
> 
> Viktor and Yuuri have come so far, and I don’t want to see them fail now. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, folks, and see what tonight’s episode has in store for us.
> 
> A big thank you to StrangerRanger for helping me figure out which form of “любимый ” to use for Viktor and Yuuri. Apparently this form is primarily used when referring to men. I’m not sure why, but I’m just in love with the idea of Viktor calling Yuuri “beloved”.
> 
> Hang in there, everyone! Whatever happens, whatever this episode brings, we will make it through. You’re all amazing.
> 
> Check me out on tumblr: _http://childrenoftheicerink.tumblr.com_


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